Bitcoin Group, Deutsche Rohstoff, Aurelius - Alternative Investment Champions

BITCOIN GROUP SE - In the maelstrom of crypto-currencies

Yesterday, crypto investors needed strong nerves. In recent days, the comments of the "Tesla God" Elon Musk led to falling quotations of the Bitcoin, so it was yesterday the notice of three Chinese banking associations. These warned investors against speculation in the cryptocurrencies and called on financial institutions to neither accept nor use cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. As a result, the bitcoin price temporarily collapsed by more than 20% to around USD 31,000 yesterday but quickly recovered. Thus, nothing has happened in terms of price in the last 24h. However, the last few days and yesterday, in particular, have made it clear that the stock market is not a one-way street. The fact that the primary trading platform for cryptocurrencies, Coinbase, which went public only last month, was temporarily unavailable to investors yesterday is irritating. The Company pointed out on Twitter that the funds in Coinbase accounts were safe. You can see the nervousness there. The stock is down about a third from its highs in April.

Bitcoin Group shareholders also had to buckle up yesterday. Intraday, the price sank to EUR 37. At the close of trading, the share certificates were quoted at EUR 40.75, just 2% below the previous day's level. The Company was thus worth EUR 202 million. Three components are relevant for the valuation of the Company. Firstly, it is the operating business, which mainly revolves around the bitcoin.de trading platform. Secondly, it is the Company's holdings of cryptocurrencies. However, this pendulum is now swinging in the other direction.

Nevertheless, the Company's holdings probably cover around half of the stock market value at current prices. Thirdly, it is the classic service business of a securities trading bank attributable to the operating result. The Group's business is dominated by the crypto and digitalization sector. For this reason, too, the management team was expanded at the beginning of May with Per Hlawatschek, a Chief Information Officer (CIO). Hlawatschek was significantly involved in the development of the cryptocurrency trading platform Bitcoin.de. Volatility opens up trading opportunities!

DEUTSCHE ROHSTOFF AG - Extremely good start to the year!

On May 10, the Mannheim-based Company published its figures for the first quarter. According to them, the Group has started very well into the new year. The increase from EUR 16.1 million to EUR 17.9 million did not look spectacular on the sales level. However, earnings increased strongly disproportionately and the increase in cash and cash equivalents was also considerable. Although the share price fell from EUR 16 to around EUR 14 in the last few days - the stock market value is currently EUR 73 million - the share has performed phenomenally since the beginning of the year, with growth of over 60%.

Deutsche Rohstoff AG identifies, develops and sells raw material deposits in North America, Australia and Europe. For some time now, the development of oil and gas deposits in the USA has been the focus of business activities. EBITDA increased in Q1 from EUR 9.5 million to EUR 21.3 million. The high revenues and recoveries from the wells and sound development of the investment portfolio caused the total of cash, short-term receivables and securities held as fixed and current assets to increase to EUR 70.8 million. That is almost EUR 25 million more than at the end of 2020! The equity ratio was 26.7%. Production at the US subsidiaries has been running at full capacity again since the beginning of 2021. The equity and bond portfolio made a profit contribution of EUR 8.5 million in the first quarter.

Often misjudged are the mining projects and investments that the Group holds in its portfolio. Acting opportunistically, Deutsche Rohstoff proved good timing in the past when selling gold projects and US oil projects. This skill is also demonstrated by the realized gains of the equity and bond portfolio in Q1. In addition to oil and the investment portfolio, the subsidiary Almonty, which could become a major global producer of the critical raw material tungsten, is particularly exciting. For us, the Deutsche Rohstoff share remains a promising and exciting investment.

AURELIUS EQUITY OPPORTUNITIES SE & CO KGAA - Good Q1 figures

Last week the private equity investor published its Q1 figures. Total consolidated revenues declined slightly to EUR 809.7 million. However, other key figures were decisive for the assessment of success. The operating result (EBITDA) increased by 125% to EUR 55.7 million. Net asset value climbed by 7% to EUR 1.078 billion or EUR 36.17 per share as of the reporting date. Thus, the share is trading at a discount of more than a quarter to yesterday's closing price of EUR 26.42.

The Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board has been buying the share in recent days. Quite understandable given the exemplary figures. As CEO Matthias Täubl emphasized in recent weeks, significantly more transactions are taking place in the current financial year than in 2020. And Täubl has already delivered quite a bit. After all, it is transactions that the Company thrives on. Either a lavish profit is realized through an exit, or a new yield generator is found in the portfolio. Both make the hearts of investors beat faster.